City workers and members of the National Guard distributed halal food in Queens last week.Credit...Desiree Rios for The New York Times

Nearly one in four New Yorkers lacks adequate food, the city says.

Two months into the coronavirus pandemic, with hundreds of thousands of peopleout of work, nearly one in four New Yorkers needs food, Mayor Bill de Blasio said on Thursday.

To address the problem, the city plans to increase to 1.5 million the number of meals it distributes each day by next week, officials said, with a million to be delivered and 500,000available for pickup at schools.

Before the virus hit, Mr. de Blasio said, officials believed that “somewhere over a million” city residents “were food-insecure, needed food more, at some point in the year.”

As a result of the pandemic, he said, “we think that number is two million or more. So almost a doubling. That’s why we have made food such a central part of what we do in response to this crisis.”

The city has been expanding its food-distribution efforts for weeks and has given out 32 million meals during the crisis, the mayor said.

Kathryn Garcia, the top city official in charge of delivering food, said the city had terminated some food vendors for poor performance.

“‘Would you serve this to your grandma?’” city officials asked food vendors, according to Ms. Garcia. “We will hold people accountable.”

Separately, families of New York City public school students will soon get more than $400 per student, regardless of income, to help pay for food while school buildings are closed through a federal relief program.

New York sees more reports of virus-linked syndrome in children.

New York State is investigating 157 cases of a severe inflammatory syndrome that is linked to the virus and affects children, a 53 percent increase in the past nine days, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said on Thursday.

“The more we look, the more we find it,” Mr. Cuomo said at his daily news briefing. On May 12, the state was investigating 102 cases.

The condition, which the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has labeled Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, often appears weeks after infection in children who did not experience first-phase virus symptoms.

Instead of targeting the lungs as the primary virus infection does, it causes inflammation throughout the body and can severely damage the heart.

Most of the children found to have the illness in New York so far have tested positive for the virus or antibodies to it, Mr. Cuomo said.

Researchers are examining whether the infected children were genetically predisposed to the syndrome, the governor added.

“Is there something in their DNA code?” he said. “Is there some common denominator among these children? Why are these children affected when other children aren’t?”

In New York City, health officials said on Thursday that there were at least 89 cases of the syndrome that met the C.D.C.’s criteria. As of Wednesday, officials were investigating 158 potential cases of the illness. Twenty-six did not meet the C.D.C. criteria, and 43 were still being investigated, officials said.

On the front lines: Tommy Hondros, gas station owner.

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Credit...Sarah Maslin Nir/The New York Times

The Times is regularly profiling essential workers in the New York region during the pandemic.

Where do you live? Bensonhurst, Brooklyn.

Where do you work? Liberty 8th Avenue gas station in the West Village of Manhattan.

How has business changed since the coronavirus has come to New York?

I was staying open 24 hours for the first month of this situation, but then I couldn’t any more — none of my workers wanted to come to work, which I don’t blame them for. I lost about nine guys.

They just said, “You know what? Money isn’t worth our lives.” Which I understand. But I’m still here. I have no choice — you really don’t if you think about it. How are people going to survive? How am I going to survive?

Has your life changed?

I haven’t seen my grandma in two months. I used to see her every single day. She lives two blocks from me. It’s too high risk.

Are you ever nervous or scared?

Yes, but I don’t stay open for me, I stay open for the community, which is first responders, the ambulance, the firefighters, the Port Authority police, they all come here.

We could have closed if we wanted to, but where are people going to get gas? The first responders, or people going to buy groceries for people who can’t get out of the house?

Is there an upside to any of this?

They all know me, they say, “Thanks Tommy, we know you don’t have to be here, that it’s a real hazard for you to even be here,” but I still stay open for them.

Every time I see these people come out of their house at 7 p.m. I’m like, “Oh are you guys applauding for me?” I’m a first responder if you really think about it.

Here’s where you can go to the beach.

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The beach in Ocean Grove, N.J., ahead of Memorial Day weekend.Credit...John Taggart for The New York Times

Pandemic or no, and a spotty weather forecast notwithstanding, summer beach season begins on Friday with Memorial Day weekend. But many beaches in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut are closed. At the ones that are open, a day at the shore will be very different.

Those seeking sun, sand and sea face a patchwork of restrictions. Here is a guide:

New Jersey:Summer at the Jersey Shore, a 130-mile stretch of coastline that serves as a crucial economic engine for the state, is on, but with limits. Gov. Philip D. Murphy required local officials to limit capacity at their beaches, and how they do so is up to them.

“We’ve begun to take what I would call baby steps,” Mr. Murphy said early Thursday of the state’s reopening efforts in an interview on CNBC. “Beaches is a big step.”

Amusement parks, playgrounds and arcades on the state’s famous boardwalks are closed, and seaside restaurants will be allowed to provide takeout or delivery only.

New York City: Mr. de Blasio has said that the city’s beaches, including those at Coney Island and on he Rockaway peninsula, are open only to nearby residents who want to take a walk on the sand. Swimming is prohibited, as are gatherings or parties of any kind, and the mayor has repeatedly urged people not to travel to get to the beaches.

Riis Park and Fort Tilden in the Rockaways, which are part of the Gateway National Recreation Area and are run by the National Park Service, will be open only for “passive recreation” like walking and running. Parking lot capacity will be capped at 50 percent.

Long Island: Concerned that city residents closed off from their own beach might head east, officials on Long Island have moved to restrict access to their shores to residents only. As a result, access to Suffolk and Nassau County beaches will require proof of residency.

Beaches across New York State are required to cap capacity at 50 percent. Long Beach, which has often drawn beachgoers from New York City, will only sell beach passes to residents. The boardwalk will be open with social-distancing rules.

State-run beaches, including Jones Beach and Robert Moses State Park, miles-long expanses that draw many city residents, will be open, with limited parking.

Mr. Cuomo said on Thursday that he expected those beaches to reach maximum capacity as early as 10 a.m.

“You don’t want to take that ride and find out the beach is already closed,” he said.

Westchester County: County-run beaches at Playland in Rye and Croton Point Park will be open to county residents only.

Connecticut: Local officials have been allowed to make decisions about access to beaches they control.

At state parks with shoreline beaches, visitors can only gather in groups of five or fewer and must keep 15 feet between beach blankets. Face coverings are required when people are near others. If social distancing cannot be maintained, officials may close parking lots or beaches.

Commercial tenants lag in paying rent, a threat to city services.

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Many New York City landlords are worried about paying their tax bills as residential and commercial tenants fall behind in their rent. Credit...Chang W. Lee/The New York Times

In Brooklyn, a nightclub has been closed for two months. In Manhattan, a travel agency says it is unlikely to ever reopen. Both have not paid rent since the coronavirus shutdowns began.

Their landlord, Jane Lok, collected about half of the monthly rent she was owed by her six commercial tenants in April and May, a drastic drop-off from normal times. She owes a $20,000 insurance premium this month and a much higher annual property tax bill in July.

“I’m just running my numbers and seeing when I will run out of money,” Ms. Lok said. “We are already dipping into savings.”

Residential rent collections have also declined as tenants who lost jobs have stopped paying. But the erosion of commercial rents, so far, is worse and has stripped landlords of their largest source of income every month.

The cascading impact of the pandemic and stay-at-home orders on New York City have reached a breaking point, property owners and developers say. Two months into the crisis, the steep drop in rental income now threatens their ability to pay bills, taxes and vendors — a looming catastrophe for the city, they warn.

If building owners cannot come up with enough money to pay their next property tax bill in five weeks, the city will be starved of an enormous revenue stream that helps pay for all aspects of everyday life, from the Fire Department to trash pickup to the public hospitals. It could lead to a bleak landscape of vacant storefronts and streets sapped of their energy.

A barbershop, a brewery and N.J. Republicans sue to end state shutdown

A group of small businesses joined forces with New Jersey’s Republican Party on Thursday in a bid to overturn the state’s coronavirus-related shutdown.

In a civil complaint filed in state Superior Court, they contend that Gov. Philip D. Murphy “exceeded his authority” and violated New Jersey’s constitution when, on March 21, he closed many businesses in hopes of slowing the virus’s spread.

Mr. Murphy’s March 21 order distinguished between essential retail businesses that could stay open — groceries, laundromats and hardware stores — and nonessential businesses like gyms, salons, bars and movie theaters.

The lawsuit contends that Mr. Murphy’s order denied business owners equal protection under the law, and that the distinction between what qualified as essential and what did not was gravely flawed.

For example, the complaint questions why liquor stores were allowed to stay open, but not barber shops were not.

“This is despite the well-known health hazards of alcohol, as well as the strong link between alcohol use and the occurrence of domestic violence,” the complaint says.

Among those bringing the lawsuit are Postas Barber Shop in Franklin, N.J., in northern New Jersey, and the Bucket Brigade Brewery in Cape May County, at the state’s southern tip.

“If I don’t have my clients, I don’t have business,” John Postas, the barbershop’s owner, said in an interview. “So their safety and their health is of the utmost importance to me.”

“I’m not saying open with zero protections,” said State Senator Michael L. Testa Jr., a lawyer who is representing the business owners and who is also a New Jersey co-chair of President Trump’s campaign. “I’m saying, allow businesses such as your hotels, motels, restaurants, barber shops, salons, stores that sell the exact same products as a Walmart, a Dollar General, they should be allowed to be open.”

Frequently Asked Questions and Advice

Updated June 5, 2020

How many people have lost their jobs due to coronavirus in the U.S.?

The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April.

Will protests set off a second viral wave of coronavirus?

Mass protests against police brutality that have brought thousands of people onto the streets in cities across America are raising the specter of new coronavirus outbreaks, prompting political leaders, physicians and public health experts to warn that the crowds could cause a surge in cases. While many political leaders affirmed the right of protesters to express themselves, they urged the demonstrators to wear face masks and maintain social distancing, both to protect themselves and to prevent further community spread of the virus. Some infectious disease experts were reassured by the fact that the protests were held outdoors, saying the open air settings could mitigate the risk of transmission.

How do we start exercising again without hurting ourselves after months of lockdown?

Exercise researchers and physicians have some blunt advice for those of us aiming to return to regular exercise now: Start slowly and then rev up your workouts, also slowly. American adults tended to be about 12 percent less active after the stay-at-home mandates began in March than they were in January. But there are steps you can take to ease your way back into regular exercise safely. First, “start at no more than 50 percent of the exercise you were doing before Covid,” says Dr. Monica Rho, the chief of musculoskeletal medicine at the Shirley Ryan AbilityLab in Chicago. Thread in some preparatory squats, too, she advises. “When you haven’t been exercising, you lose muscle mass.” Expect some muscle twinges after these preliminary, post-lockdown sessions, especially a day or two later. But sudden or increasing pain during exercise is a clarion call to stop and return home.

My state is reopening. Is it safe to go out?

States are reopening bit by bit. This means that more public spaces are available for use and more and more businesses are being allowed to open again. The federal government is largely leaving the decision up to states, and some state leaders are leaving the decision up to local authorities. Even if you aren’t being told to stay at home, it’s still a good idea to limit trips outside and your interaction with other people.

What’s the risk of catching coronavirus from a surface?

Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.

How can I protect myself while flying?

If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)

Should I wear a mask?

The C.D.C. has recommended that all Americans wear cloth masks if they go out in public. This is a shift in federal guidance reflecting new concerns that the coronavirus is being spread by infected people who have no symptoms. Until now, the C.D.C., like the W.H.O., has advised that ordinary people don’t need to wear masks unless they are sick and coughing. Part of the reason was to preserve medical-grade masks for health care workers who desperately need them at a time when they are in continuously short supply. Masks don’t replace hand washing and social distancing.

What should I do if I feel sick?

If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.

A press representative for Mr. Murphy said the governor’s office would not comment on pending litigation.

In a statement, the state Democratic committee called the suit as an exercise in “scoring political points.”

Subway ridership is up 50 percent from last month, but still far below normal.

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The Bryant Park subway station on Monday.Credit...Brittainy Newman/The New York Times

New Yorkers are slowly beginning to return to the subway system, in another sign that Americans at the center of the global coronavirus pandemic are eager for a return to normalcy.

Subway rides are now averaging 600,000 a day, after a low of 400,000 in April, Metropolitan Transportation Authority officials said Wednesday.

New York City Transit’s interim president, Sarah Feinberg, called the increase “significant,” though the numbers are still far below the system’s typical ridership of more than five million per weekday.

Bus ridership is up too, from a low of 400,000 to some 700,000 trips a day.

The nation’s biggest mass transit system saw its ridership plummet over 90 percent, in part by government order: Only essential workers are supposed to use it, along with people who absolutely need to.

New Yorkers are also slowly returning to the Staten Island Ferry, with rush-hour ridership up to 600 passengers, from lows of about 400. In response, the city will this afternoon start running rush-hour ferry service every half-hour, rather than every hour.

The virus has taken an awful toll on transit workers: As of Wednesday, 123 of them had died from it, officials said. All but three of them worked in the agency’s subway and bus divisions.

Michael Cohen was released from prison amid coronavirus concerns.

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Michael Cohen arriving to his Manhattan apartment on Thursday.Credit...Mike Segar/Reuters

Michael D. Cohen, President Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, was released from a federal prison on Thursday on furlough and returned to his home in Manhattan, one of his lawyers said. He had asked to be released over health concerns tied to the coronavirus.

Waiting to lock down N.Y. cost nearly 17,000 lives, researchers say.

‘We Could Have Saved Many, Many More Lives,’ Cuomo Says, Citing New Data

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo responded a question about whether New York State should have implemented stay-at-home orders sooner.

“Yeah, I think it’s, frankly this situation is worse than the story suggests. We may lose 100,000 people in this country to Covid. If this country knew more, and knew it earlier, I think we could have saved many, many more lives. It starts in China — November, December. You then have January, February, March. We now know the virus left China, got on a plane and went to Europe, and from Europe, the virus got on a plane and came to the United States, and came to New York. January, February, March — March 16, European travel ban. Three million Europeans travel to New York State — three million. Who know the virus left China, who knew the virus went to Europe, who knew the virus was already here; January, February, March? Now, who should have known?”

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo responded a question about whether New York State should have implemented stay-at-home orders sooner.CreditCredit...Johnny Milano for The New York Times

If the United States had begun imposing social-distancing measures a week earlier than it did, about 17,000 fewer people in the New York area would have died in the virus outbreak, according to new estimates from Columbia University disease modelers.

The findings are based on infectious disease modeling that gauges how reduced contact between people starting in mid-March slowed transmission of the virus.

The researchers modeled what would have happened if the same changes had taken place a week or two earlier and estimated the spread of infections and deaths. Nationwide, they found, earlier action would have saved 36,000 lives.

In New York, the researchers found, the number of deaths would have been under 4,300 by May 3 if nationwide controls had been put in place on March 8.

When asked about the modeling at his daily briefing on Thursday, Mr. Cuomo cited a lack of early information about the virus, saying that “if this country knew more and knew it earlier, I think we could have saved many, many more lives.”

The governor did not directly address his own decisions, saying federal agencies or international health organizations should have detected earlier warning signs.

“Now, who should have known?” Mr. Cuomo said.” It’s above my pay grade as governor of one state.”